iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I think they all have pluses and minuses honestly

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

By the way I’m not poking at Indian astrology. I’m poking at people saying it’s more scientific.

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

Here are the dates when four major sidereal systems lined up with tropical vernal equinox: Fagan-Bradley: 221AD Lahri: 290AD Raman: 395AD De Luce: 560AD As you can see, these can have huge differences.

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

If you think sidereal signs are more "scientific" than tropical signs, it may surprise you to learn that there are several sidereal systems, because it's difficult to identify a particular star to align to the spring equinox.

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

Take everything we have and put it together. Listen to the working astrologers: Valens, Abu Mashar, Bonatti, Lilly, etc. They all have important information.

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

So now there is a narrative that Latin texts are corrupted, but the reality is that we have several breaks in the tradition in several languages. Including the Hellenistic period.

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

5. In the transmission to the Latin West, even more changes happened, and not all Arabic text made it. Some texts that were less influential in Arabic, like Picatrix and Abu Ali Khayyat became popular in the West. Ptolemy once again became a standard.

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

4. Arabic writers had to fill in blanks like transit theory, which was not as present in the books they translated into a new doctrine.

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

3. Due to accidents in history, some books, like Ptolemy who wasn't like the other Greek texts, became huge. Others like Valens who were more mainstream weren't as popular.

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

2. They went East & translated into Persian & Arabic. Not everything made it. Sources were manuscripts & not like critical editions we have today. Errors inevitably happen. Some errors were likely in Greek manuscripts due to copyist errors. Standardized dictionaries didn't exist for over a millinea.

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

1. The earliest instructional texts on Western astrology are mostly in Greek. They claim to quote books we no longer have. This is probably true in many cases. We have several texts. Maybe 10-15 of these are of a notable size. The rest are fragments.

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

Why appeals to antiquity - or even thinking one historical period is the key to understanding magic and astrology is flawed - using astrology as an example:

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

Actual picture of Agrippa’s Hell Hound:

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

If you ever wonder how narratives can shape people's understanding, remember that the term "dark ages" was coined by someone in the Renaissance. Labels are great at othering.

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

I’m ok! I think we’re collectively stressed and I think doing things to help us feel good about life if much needed

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

I went through a bit of political posting recently elsewhere but I had to stop. It's too stressful. I like to create a "cool people who do cool things" vibe in my algorithm. I am more concerned about cultivating a community.

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Seriously. I'm a soft sell there

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

He heard that little people would kidnap you and take you away. I asked him "what happens then?" He said "they teach you about the medicinal uses of plants for a few years". "I said, "Then what?" He replied, "Then they release you." That sounds fine to me.

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

I was reminded today of a story a babalawo told me years ago about a well-known babalawo who was scared to go into the woods in Nigeria. 1/2

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

Pliny the elder said that Marcus Agrippa was born feet first, and this kind of birth was henceforth called an Agrippan birth. I was born the same way. The Agrippan connection was with me since I was born.

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

This is one of my favorite quotes in Agrippa’s “Three Books of Occult Philosophy” (in turn quoted from Ficino). It compares how magicians using many things for a magical working, unite into a whole greater than its parts - not unlike bees making honey from many flowers.

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

My friends are moving and I saw this. I spent 10 years on this thing! The insult!!!

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

Morin mocks a critic of astrology and says: "it seems enough to teach nothing to his ignorant readers with shriveled little questions".

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

A book that Morin wrote in the 17th century has such a kickass name: "Revealing the Cabala of the Astrological Houses"

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

A 17th-century critique of astrology says that aspects are stupid because the critic thinks that good aspects work because our human eyes look kindly upon them when we look up at the planets in the sky, and badly with evil aspects.

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

I just want people to know that I’m not a mere astrologer, olorisha, and translator. I’m a content creator.

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

The best footnote ever. This is from Richard Burton’s translation of Arabian Nights.

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 22/08/2025

I finished Stephen King’s Dark Tower series. There’s a theme in the series of repeating names that are similar. Example: Calla, Callahan, & Calvin. I moved to a neighborhood called “Cully”. A character’s name is Patrick Danville. My brother’s name is Patrick & I’m from Danville. Sigh.

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 22/08/2025

Don't make Agrippa sad. He had a hard life. I'll talk about that too.

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

We’re running out of time! Registrations to my Three Books of Occult Philosophy are closing in two days on Friday!

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 17/08/2025

The Agrippa translator is here for it

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 16/08/2025

When I moved I left A LOT behind. I brought my books, clothes, orishas, and a small bit of furniture. It was time to stop dragging things that weren’t me. I feel way better and clearer. I highly recommend it!

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Eric Purdue @ericesoteric.bsky.social · 16/08/2025

Lukumi has the word “ebbo”, meaning sacrifice. This can mean anything from a prayer to something more major. One ebbo is getting rid of clutter.

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